Now I'm down a chisel
And the most important one, the skinniest
Whatever will I do
? Have to make another'n I reckon
You've got to take it easy grinding on these blades because they are heat treated and any overheating will temper them to the point of being too soft to be any good so you've got to go SLOW and dunk it in water every couple seconds or so. Otherwise it's no problem.
Now that I've got the wire done on this side I went ahead and gave it the first soaking of what I believe you Pards may call Vinegaroon. 2 OOOO steel wool pads disolved into a quart of white vinegar. Although I screwed up the recipe I did learn it's use from our very own Chuck Burrows, Thanks for that tip Chuck !
In laymans terms this stuff reacts with the wood to assist in bringing out the natural chatoyance of the curly maple. My purpose right now is just to swell the grain of the wood to tighten it up on the wire. I will do this 3 or 4 more times before all is said and done but this is good for now. It's also worth noting that this concotion will etch or stain the steel so I soak it down good and be sure to wipe the steel dry !